Hunting boat



Dec. 6, 1927. .-.\1,65l,785 C. B. ULRICH HUNTING BOAT Filed Dec. 24, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 vINVENTOR.

(770/765 5 Mr/c/z ATTORNEY.

- Dec. 6, 1927. 1,651,785

C. B. ULRICH HUNTING BOAT Filed Dec. 24. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR Char/e5 U/r/ch.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 6, 1927.

was s. p

CEABLESBZ ULRIG'H, 0F Jn'lvrns'rowmnnw YORK.

HUNTING "Bonn Applicationfiled-December 24,1926. Serial no. 156.796. I

My invention relates'to an improyed form of hunting'boat of the kind generally known asiduck boats and is characterized by several improved features as followsyfirst,- the hull-of the boat is so shaped that it lieslow in the water,;.that the draft is a minimum;

that theoccupant may be in a comfortable sittingor recliningposition ,and'yet have his head substantially even withthe upper edge of the coam ingofthe boat,andthatthe hull asawhole shall; have ample buoyancy in connection with the proportions required to accomplishthe results referred to; second, the provision of doors for closing the major% part of the cock pit whenthe' boat is approaching its quarry, which doors are sp'ringiactuatedso that they will move to vertical position when released to aiiord free action-ofthe hunter at the instant he desires toh re; third, the provision of propelling mechanism by which the hunter may propel the-boat by operating devices contained in the-b'oat for example a screw propeller conheated by suitable devices in the boat with a drivingwheel whichmay be'turned a suitable handle and steering mechanism actuated from within the boat by the feet of the hunter.

The advantages of my improved construc-. tion are that the boat. may be propelled slowly without disturbance of any kind and without there being any motionvisible from the-outside otthe-boat,- of the person doing the propelling; also that the hunter is enti-rely concealed withthe exception of the upper part of his head during motion of the boatito-a point where the quarry-is expected to befound, or while waiting for the game to collect at a selected location and yet at the same time affording the hunter practimit him to fire in any desired direction.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment thereof in which- Similar numerals'refer tosimilar 1 shows my improved boat in sideele 'vation, 1

Figs. 1; .1 and '1 are transverse sectional views of the hull of the b'oat 'shown-in 1 taken respectively along the lines a-a, bf band cf-,0,

v Fig; Q is a inEig l 7, b 7 Fig. 3 isadetail View oi-propellinglniecha plan view of the boattes 'zss anism'adapted for use with the boat, shown;

i'n- Figs. land Q, taken along the linie .3- 3

in-Fig. 2', A

Fig. 4 Ts a-sectional View fo'f the par ts shown in,Fig. 3,.taken' alongthe, line Fig 5 is a detail View" of a zpart .of the steering mechanism employed in the boat shownin Figs. 1 and'2,.

6 is a sectionalview of the devices shown in Fig. 5 taken along the line f Fig. 7 is a-detail viewfof the'door locking mechanism used in. connectionlwith th'e boatf shown 1n. Figs. 1 and 2, th1s'v1ewhein'g-taken along the line 3 3 inFigLQQand k Fig. 8 is. a detail rear end:view,.to. an

enlarged scale ofthe doors, showing their. relation toeac hothe'r this View being'taken along the line 88 inFig. 2.

throughout the several vie ws.

parts a As shownin' Fig.'- ltheboat consistsofa 1 hull lO- having a waterline 11 which" is lbu't slightly belowthe olecko' f-t'the boat. Below the water line'the hull ofthe 'boatindicajted at 1 2 is 7 of gradually" increasing depth, as" indicated the lines of the .hllll in Fi g.

and the cross sections thereof shown in Figs;

1*,11 and 1, until a position aft otinid shipsfi s reached where the maximum depth or "draI"t isfound. A cockpit isforined in on v th'e'boat by a coaming l3 e'Xtendingfor near:

sufficient to give the .occupant' opportunity for free movement. The co'aming jis taken of a height to protect the ,cock pit-frointh'e wash'lthat may flow over'the deck and'the total depth of the hull at thecros'sse'ction indicated in Fig. 1, is preferably such-{thatthe occupant of the boat lsitting at thislp'oint in a somewhat reclining position" will have his headbut pa'rtly aboye'the toptedge of the coamingl Aft. of the section indicated in Fig." 1 the cross section ofthe hull rafpid ly tapers to substantiallythat indicated in Fig. 1? to afford "suitable clearance for a propeller 14', andrudder; 115, the lower end of the rudderpost'.l5 being pivoted in a ly halfth'e length" of the boat; of'a" width after end and of a width to completely close at their outer longitudinal edges by spring the cock pit laterally. The open space at the after end of the doors 17 and 17 is to afford the occupant, of the boat opportunity to see about him sufficiently to navigate the boat. The doors 17 and 17 are connected hinges 18' with the adjacent coaming, the springs in the hinges tending to move the doors from horizontal position to substantially vertical position as indicated in dotted linesat 17 in Fig. 1,, for which position the entire cock pit is open and affords free movement to the occupant of the boat. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, one of the doors, for examplethe door 17 is provided with a lock ing bolt 19 mounted in a guide 20 so that its forw ard'end may project into engagement- With a suitable aperture or recess formed therefor in the forward coaming. 13. The otherend of the bolt 19 is connected with an operating rod 21 having a suitable guiding support 22 at the after end of'the door 17, beyond 'which the rod 21 is extended slightly and hasqsecured to it a knob 23, by which the bolt 19 may be moved from engagement with the coaming or into engagement therewith as desired. With this construction, the door 17 preferably is provided on its inner edge with a projecting ledge 17 below the adjacent edge of the door 17, so that the bolt 19 will hold both of the doors in theirhorizontal position against the action of the springs in the hinges 18.

In'using the boat, the doors 17 and 17? are held in their closed or horizontal position by the bolt 19, at all times that it is desired to have the boat and hunter as inconspicuous as possible, and at the instant it is desired to fire at the game, the hunter, first havinghis gun in readiness below the doors, pulls the knob 23, the spring hinges 18 at once move the doors 17 'and 17 to theiropen position and at the same time the hunter raises his gun and fires in the desired direction. a

'As indicated in Fig. 2, and more clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the propeller 14 is mounted on a shaft 24, the inner end of which has rigidly secured thereto a grooved Wheel 25 engaged by a belt 26, which belt passes around idler sheaves 2'? and a driving the. shaft 24. A tightener sheave 44 is shown engaging the belt 26, carried by a stud mounted on an arm 46 pivotally connected to the hull at 47, so that the belt 26 may be kept taut. The wheel 39 is mountedfor rotary movement on a stud 48 supported from the hull 10 and said wheel is provided with a handle 49 by which the wheel 39 may be conveniently turned in either direction, as desired, by the occupant ofthe boat, thus through the devices just described, moving the boat ahead or astern asgdesired. If desired, the wheel 39 and the tightner sheave 44 may be mounted on their respective studs 48 and 45 by means of ball bearings as indicated to reduce friction of the driving mechanism to a minimum. It will be understood that the belt described maybe of any convenient kind, round or flat, and either frictionally engage the wheels or that it may comprise a chain, and that the wheels and sheaves are conformed in any case to'suit the particular type of belt employed. I V I 1 The rudder post 15 of the rudder 15,.extends into the hull of the boat where it is secured at its upper end to a tiller bar'28, the ends of which are connected in turn by flexible links 29, 29 with the rea r ends of operating bars 30, 30. The bars 30 as indicated in Fig. 6 are preferably-rectangular in cross section and supported in suitable gui.deways 31 on edge, said guidewa-ys being in turn secured to the frame work of the boat. The shape ofthejbars 30 and their o e-operating guideways 31 prevents rotary movement of the bars and serves to hold foot lugs 32 carried by the bars in a position extending horizontally towards each.

other, for convenient-engagement by the feet of the occupant of 'the'boat. The for ward ends of the bars 30 are connected by flexible links 33 with the ends of a cross bar 34 pivotally supported atit-s mid portion under the .deck of the boat as indicated at 35 so that the rudder 15 may be oper ated entirely by one of thebars 30 if desired, since the-several links referred to will positively move either bar 30 in an opposite direction to'the direction of movement imparted to the other one of the bars 30. I find it convenient to support the link connections 29 by additional links 36 supported at their upper ends'by suitable devices, for example screw eyes 37 from the undersideof the deck of the boat. In this way ,the links 29 maybe held in proper position and prevented from rubbing on the hullofthe'boa't.

To make'the boat as inconspicuous as 1 possible, I find it advisable to cover, the

deck and doors with grass, rushes, or grass matting as indicated at 38 which causes the boat to blend in considerable measure with its surroundings, particularly when using the boat where there is sea grass or reeds.

' 'tion is not a part of the present the action of said springs. ,60

From the above description it Will appear that I have provided a construction of boat affording the occupant a convenient and comfortable position and at the same time' insuring that the boat need project but a few inches above the surface of the Water, and permitting theoccupant 'at the same time to propel the boat and steer it as desired, all of Which may be accomplished with the doors in their closed position, and

at the same time the boat construction results in the center of gravity of the load being aft of midships Which isa condition to be desired to afford control of the navigating of the boat, and the proportions of b The hull of the boat may be made in any manner known to the art, for example of wood or fabric on a suitable framework, or of sheet metal, and since the kind of construcinvent-ion, it is not particularly shown or described. While I refer to the hinges 18 asspring hinges for the purpose described, it will be understood that I may employ any desired arrangement of hinges and. springs for sup porting and opening the doors as described.

While I have shown my invention in the particular embodiment above described, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to this exactconstruction as I may employ equivalents knoWnto the art at the time of the filing of this application Without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What 'Iclaim is: I

1. A hunting boat consisting of the combination of a hull having cross-sections from how to aft of mid-ships of gradually increasing displacements and graded from a slightly curved line adjacent the bow to a double reversed curve of maximum draft aft of mid-ships conformed substantially to the contour of the human body in reclining position, a deck partly covering the hull, and having an elongated opening therein forming a cock-pit, doors hinged at their longitudinal outer edges to the deck to close the major portion of the forward end of said cockpit, springs tending to move said doors to open the cock-pit, and a latch for holding said doors in closed 2. A hunting boat consisting of the combination of a hull having its displacement lines conformed substantially to the contour of the human body in reclining position, a deck partly coveringthe hull, a propeller under, the after portion of the hull, a drivposition against,

ing Wheel in the boat, a propeller shaft ex tending'into the boat, a belt Wheel on the inner end of said shaft, a beltvconnecting said Wheels, sheaves for changing then-direction of said belt, and a handle on said driving Wheel for operating the same. 1'

3. A- hunting boat-consisting of the combination of a hull having its displacement lines conformedsubstantiallyto the contour 1 i of the human body in reclining position, a

deck partly covering the hull, a propeller.

under theafter portion of the hull, a pro- Wheel carried by said shaft, a Wheelfor driving said belt, a tightener for said belt,

an operating handle connected with said driving Wheel for driving the same, a rudder, bars inside of said boat and below said deck andconnected With said rudder to operate it, and foot lugs extending from said bars for engagement by the feet of the occupant of the boat. 1

4:. A hunting'boat comprising the combi pellershaft extending into the boat, abelt nation of. a decked hull having a cock pit, a

doors hinged to the longitudinal edges of said cock pit to form a cover for the same,

springs tending to open said doors, and a catch for holdingsaid doors in closed position against the act-ion of said springs,

5. A hunting boat comprising the combi-V nation of a decked hull having a cockpit, doors hinged to the longitudinal edges of,

said cock pit to form a cover for'the same, sprlngs tending to open said doors, a catch for holding sai-d'doors in closed position against the action of said springs, said catch being at the forward end of sald doors, a

rod extending from said catch to the after 7 end of said doors,and a handle onthe after end of said rod for operating it to in turn operate said catch. a I

. 6. A hunting boatcomprising the combination of a decked boat having a cock -pit,

a hinged door having a closed position across the opening of said cock pit and an open position clear of said opening, spring mechanism tending to opensaid door, and a catch for holding said door closed. a

.7. A hunting boat comprising the combi nation of adecked boat having a cock-pit, a

doorhaving a closed'position across the opening of said cock pitv andan open position clear of said opening, spring hinges supporting said door and tending to move it to its open position, and a catch for holding said door closed. 7 3

8. A hunting boat comprising the combi,-

nation of a hull, adeckpartly covering said a hull and having an opening forming a cock pit, a door hinged to the edge of said cock pit foreclosing the same, and a ing. on said deck and door. I

Inwitnes's whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 21st day of December, A. D. 1926 CHARLES B. ULRICH.

grass cover 

